FILMMAKER grant program

You already know that at True Calling we believe in spreading the word about people who love what they do. This year, we want to team up with you to tell these stories through our Filmmaker Grant Program. We are handing out $2500 grants to filmmakers across Canada so that together, we can connect to the stories of great people that will embolden us to chase after happier, purpose-driven lives.

We want you to create short films, about 2:30 in length, that inspire us, challenge our perspective on what’s possible, break barriers, and spark change. These stories will visually blow our minds, increase our understanding of each other, and cultivate opportunities for everyone. You already know who these passionate people are—let’s make a great piece about them and share it with the world.

We are not only excited to award these grants, we are thrilled to give you this money because we know what great things you’ll do with it. This is one of the easiest grants you could apply for and there is no limit to the number of grants you can receive. Submit your application below and show us what you’ve got. We can’t wait to do great things together.

JURY PANEL grants program

Welcome to the stage, the True Calling Grants jury. We are honoured to have these seven panelists from highly esteemed global film and media organizations join us on the grants program. Each panelist has lent their depth of documentary knowledge, international festival experience, and industry expertise, as they watch the Top 10 film submissions and ranked their favourites.

One Top 10 episode will be released every week on our website and Facebook page, where each like, comment, and share counts as votes towards the Viewers’ Choice award.

Chris Burkard

Adventure Photographer & Filmmaker

Chris is a self-taught adventure photographer, Tribeca Film Fest filmmaker and influencer. Burkard’s images are punctuated by energized landscapes and moments of bliss, through adventure-seeking and the lifestyle that ensues.

Liz Manashil

Sundance Institute, Manager of Creative Distribution

Liz is a filmmaker, ex-film critic and manager of Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Initiative. Liz earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and her M.F.A. from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

Dorota Lech

TIFF, Industry Programming

Dorota holds a double M.A in Political Science and Gender Studies from McGill University. She is the Industry Programmer at Hot Docs, and the Doc Conference Programmer at TIFF. She speaks English, French, German, Spanish, and Polish.

Jerry Rothwell

Sundance Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker

Jerry Rothwell is a documentary filmmaker whose work includes the award-winning feature films: How To Change The World, about the founders of Greenpeace, Town of Runners, about two girls in an Ethiopian village who aspire to be athletes and the documentary Sour Grapes.

Ezra Winton

Cinema Politica, Co-founder & Curator

Ezra co-founded Cinema Politica, a non-profit media arts organization that is the world’s largest campus and community based documentary screening network. He has PhD in Communications focused on documentaries, writes for POV Magazine and lives in Montreal.

José Rodriguez

Tribeca Film Institute, Director of Documentary Programs

José manages the Documentary Programming department at the Tribeca Film Institute, which encompasses: the Tribeca All Access Program, the TFI Documentary Fund, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund.

Adam Cook

TIFF, Programming Associate

Adam Cook is a film programmer and critic based in Toronto. He is currently a Programming Associate at TIFF, Programming Consultant for Hot Docs, and the curator of Future//Present. Adam has bylines in The Globe & Mail, The New York Times, VICE, amongst other publications.

Derrick Liu

Amazon, Content Acquisition Manager, Prime Video

Derrick is the content acquisitions manager for Prime Video Direct at Amazon. He studied at Northwestern University and worked at Bloomberg and the Associated Press before joining Amazon. He lives in Seattle.

Thank you for your submissions!
The call for entries to our Grants Program is now closed. The link below will bring you to the spring/summer 2018 grant winners page for more information about each filmmaker and to view their amazing work.

Check out our Grants Recipients